Project SUNREY (”Boosting SUstaiNability, Reliability and EfficiencY of perovskite PV through novel materials and process engineering”) is a three-year project which started on November 1, 2022. It is coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Potsdam, Germany. The project aims to further the development of highly-efficient solar cells based on non-critical raw materials (with a focus on making perovskite solar cells more sustainable, efficient and durable) and to strengthen the innovation potential of the European industry.
SUNREY is funded by the European Union’s research and innovation program Horizon Europe within the framework of the Green Deal Initiative with 4.25 Million Euro.
The project counts 13 partners – research institutes, universities, and companies from all over Europe combine their competencies to overcome the drawbacks of perovskite photovoltaics. These are: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (Fraunhofer IAP), Universita Degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, CYCLECO SAS, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Dyenamo AB, Great Cell Solar Italia Societa ’A Responsabiliata’ Limitata, Materia Nova, Universidad de Córdoba, n-ink AB, and Technische Universität Graz. Three non-EU partners are associated to the project: University of Leicester, Teesside University, and Solaronix SA.
SUNREY will be carried out in close cooperation between science and industry, in order to strengthen the innovation of the European industry along the value chain. ”Our developments will enable the companies of our consortium to improve their capabilities for the fabrication of solar cells, taking another step towards a CO2-neutral future“, explains Dr. Armin Wedel, who coordinates the EU project and is head of the Functional Polymer Department at Fraunhofer IAP in the Potsdam Science Park, Germany. ”We are thinking of new applications of such solar modules in microelectronics for the Internet of Things (IoT) or grid independent power supply of building integrated photovoltaics.”
”Making perovskite solar cells more sustainable and efficient in order to have less impact on the environment is the central goal of the SUNREY project. To this end, we are developing materials with low lead content. In addition, we are pursuing further strategies to make perovskite solar cells more sustainable, efficient, inexpensive and durable “, says Wedel.
Besides the development of novel perovskite materials with reduced lead content the objectives of the project are: more stable and more efficient materials, novel charge transport and electrode materials, cost efficient deposition techniques, barriers and device encapsulation as well as process optimization. Simulation of device and degradation mechanisms are a central instrument for reaching these goals. Life cycle, circularity and stability analysis as well as lifetime analysis under realistic lab conditions in an accredited laboratory are accompanying this development.